Charge
by xXxNeonSoundxXx
Summary: Kenma doesn't typically interact with anyone outside his immediate friend group; he doesn't like to. Unless he's forced to of course. [Kenma x Reader]
1. Chapter 1

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Fingers diligently tapping away at the buttons on his handheld game, Kenma focused all of his attention on his current boss battle. He'd been going at it for a long time now, trying his best to use his resources wisely. That plan had gone to waste though the moment he used up the last of his healing items. Totally on his own, he had to pray that his dodging skills had gotten considerably better between the beginning of this battle and now.

"Oi, Kenma."

Grunting in response, the second year merely flickered his eyes up toward his messy haired best friend before returning them to his game. He couldn't waste a second or the battle would end and it wouldn't be in his favor.

"Kenma, come on. Pay attention."

Kuroo sounded annoyed, but Kenma could barely hear him over the sound of his own adrenaline pumping fast paced heartbeats into his ear. Just a few more hits and he was sure the boss would go down. His eyes glanced toward the top of his screen, viewing his character's health bar. This wasn't looking good. One more hit and—

"Ugh," Kenma grunted in annoyance as a scream echoed from his handheld's speakers, signaling his character's death. This was the third time he'd died in only an hour.

Sighing in defeat, Kenma closed his game and returned it to his bag; he'd have to finish it later when he calmed down again. Reaching for the soda he'd ordered a while ago, he noticed that it had gone lukewarm from sitting out for too long. Even the ice that had been in it was melted away and gone. Grimacing a bit at the watered down flavor, he continued to sip until it was about halfway gone.

"You lose again?" Kuroo's question, punctuated with a teasing smirk, made Kenma glare up at him. "Anyway, I was trying to tell you that we should probably stay here for a while. Look."

Eyes following where Kuroo was pointing, Kenma peered out of the large window that made up the front half of the cafe. Outside, the sky had grown considerably darker than when they had first arrived. Fat drops of water were falling from the dark clouds above, painting the streets and sidewalks with a darker shade. The rain that collected on the cafe awning spilled off in rivulets, creating small streams where they landed on the ground below. It was definitely the kind of weather you wouldn't want to be caught in.

Sighing, Kenma muttered out an agreeing, "Yeah," before pulling out his phone. The need to check on a few apps he'd just recently downloaded had surfaced since he felt no pressing need to get back to his handheld. Maybe he could play a thoughtless game while he and Kuroo waited out the bad weather.

Being so engrossed in his phone, Kenma didn't even notice the third person standing next to him until a semi-familiar voice coughed to get his attention. When he looked up, he noticed a girl he'd only ever seen at school prior to now.

"Kozume-kun," she greeted once he'd made a sign that he'd noticed her. "Hi, I'm [Name]," she introduced, then added, "From class?" Her eyes briefly went over to Kuroo, who was staring with interest, before tracing back to Kenma. "I, uh, this is really awkward, but I was walking home when it started to rain and I didn't have my umbrella…"

He could see that. From the way a few strands of her hair clung to her face, to the drips of water that were falling off the edges of her uniform, all the way to the small puddle that was beginning to form underneath her. It was pretty obvious that [Name] had been caught unprepared in the bad weather.

"Anyway, my phone is dead," she continued and Kenma was glad he'd started paying attention again when she was finally getting down to her main point. "And I was wondering if I could maybe, possibly borrow yours? I just need to call my mom and let her know where I am."

Kenma glanced around for a second, looking anywhere but at [Name] for a while before a soft, "Okay," left his lips. Unlocking his phone, he placed it on the table before sliding it over in her direction.

"Oh, thank you! I'll be real quick," she promised, smiling brightly at him before turning to make her call in semi-privacy.

Grabbing his lukewarm soda and gnawing on the straw between his teeth, Kenma tried to find something to do. While she was using his phone, Kenma had no choice but to actually glance up at his friend and teammate sitting across from him. Kuroo was staring back, a grin that could only mean he was up to no good settled on his features. He leaned forward in his seat so he was closer to Kenma, cupping a single hand around his mouth in an attempt to keep his voice from being heard by [Name].

"She's cute," Kuroo commented and Kenma made no move or sound to agree or disagree as he slurped slowly from his drink. He simply rolled his eyes, being far too used to Kuroo's shenanigans. "You should ask her out."

Kenma sputtered as he very nearly choked on his drink, narrowly knocking the entire cup over in the process. Kuroo was laughing at his friend's sudden reaction, being caught completely off guard by the little outburst. While Kenma tried to regain his breath, coughing a bit at the burning sensation in his throat, [Name] was just about finishing up her phone call.

"Thanks again, Kozume-kun," she said, returning the borrowed cellphone to the table where Kenma could reach it. "I'll see you tomorrow in class."

"Y-Yeah," he choked out, not looking at either her or Kuroo.


	2. Chapter 2

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"Ah, there you are!"

Startled by the unexpected voice coming at him from behind, Kenma nearly drops his cellphone to the ground below. He scrambles to keep it steady, pressing a few buttons on the app he was currently in and causing a sudden game over screen to appear. He doesn't even know what went wrong this time.

Glancing around in search for the voice, half expecting to see a lurking Kuroo or Yamamoto out to spoil his peaceful lunch, Kenma is met with the waving figure of [Name] running toward him. His eyes widen by a fraction, not really believing that she'd be looking for him. He curses the fact that his every day hiding spot wasn't really a good one now that she knew where it was. He'd have to find a new one for when he wanted to be on his own.

"Kozume-kun, I'm glad I found you," she said, sounding almost relieved as she stopped in front of him.

"Uh…" He really didn't know what to say, eyes averting hers as he tried to think about what another person would do in this sort of situation.

"Ah, s-sorry, this is really random," she apologized, realizing just how awkward it must be for the second year setter. "I know we don't really talk much with each other outside of class activities, but…"

As she began to ramble, Kenma found his mind wandering a little bit. He was looking her over in short intervals, his eyes focusing on her face for brief seconds before glancing back toward anything behind or away from her. Now that she wasn't completely soaked by rain water, he could easily see that [Name]'s hair had a bounce to it. It curled slightly and he wondered if that was natural or not.

"I wanted to thank you for letting me borrow your phone yesterday," he heard her say.

"Ah, you're welcome," Kenma answered automatically. He didn't know why she was thanking him again; she'd done it yesterday after giving his phone back. Shouldn't she be done with that now?

Somehow sensing the confusion—perhaps it was because Kenma unknowingly showed his emotions on his face sometimes—[Name] tried her best to clarify. "Actually, well, I wanted to thank you with more than just words, I guess you could say."

She was beating around the bush, making Kenma nervous about any implications she was making. He could feel a bit of sweat on the nape of his neck and he went to wipe it away, not sure why he was feeling so hesitant in the first place. He didn't feel the need to be thanked any more than necessary, so no matter what she said, he was probably going to refuse anyway.

"So, uh, would you like to go to a cafe with me?" Her question caught him off guard. "I know you were just at one yesterday, but I was thinking I could buy you something as a thanks."

She was right. He was at one yesterday and didn't really feel like going to another one any time soon. Especially if it meant going out somewhere with someone he wasn't exactly familiar with. Just as he was about to refuse her proposal, a third voice chimed in, scaring the both of them.

"Of course he'd love to go with you," Kuroo said with a grin, slinging his arm across Kenma's shoulder. "Right, buddy?" Kuroo's arm nudged Kenma's head, making it seem like he was nodding in agreement.

"O-Oh," [Name] responded, hand still on her heart from being startled by Kuroo's sudden appearance. Then realizing that her request had been accepted, a beaming smile made its way onto her face. "That's great! I'm a little busy after school today, so would tomorrow be alright?"

"We don't have practice tomorrow, so that would work out great," Kuroo said, once again answering for Kenma.

"Great, that's uh, great," [Name] responded, not really sure what to think of Kuroo answering everything for Kenma so eagerly. Pulling her phone from her pocket, she glanced at the time and noticed only a few more minutes left of the lunch period. She also noticed the depleted battery icon in the upper corner. "I should get going now before class starts again. My phone's pretty close to dying, so I have to charge it before it's completely drained."

Turning on her heel, [Name] waved a quick goodbye toward the two volleyball players, promising to meet up with Kenma later tomorrow. Kenma waited until she was completely out of sight before he turned a heavy glare up toward his friend.

"So this is where you've been hiding every time you go missing during lunch," Kuroo whistled, ignoring his friend's glare as he retreated his arm from around Kenma's shoulder. He looked around the small, hidden area, wondering why he'd never checked here before.

"Why did you do that?" Annoyance was evident in Kenma's voice as he huffed out the question.

"Because you," Kuroo started, poking Kenma for emphasis on the second word, "Need to make more friends."

"I've made more friends," Kenma muttered, thinking of a certain orange haired ball of sunshine as he did so.

"More female friends," Kuroo clarified with a shrug.

With another huff, Kenma picked up his belongings before standing. He started to walk away as Kuroo mentioned showing their other teammates this little hiding spot, making up plans to make it an impromptu second club house. Now, not only did Kenma have to find a new place to hide away, but he had to go out with a person he never really wanted to get to know in the first place.


	3. Chapter 3

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Grunting in annoyance, Kenma stuffed his cell phone into his jacket's pocket, flicking the switch that would put in on silent. He could still feel it vibrating in his pocket, alerting him to the onslaught of texts that were flooding his inbox. It was bad enough that Kuroo was bothering him about the outing he was about to go on, but ever since the sly volleyball captain told the rest of the team, it seemed like half of them wanted to put their two cents into the situation as well.

It wasn't like he was going on a date. He barely knew [Name] other than the fact that she was pretty decent at English and knew her way around a beaker and bunsen burner in Chemistry. Besides that, even if this could be considered a date, it wasn't his idea to go in the first place. He just wanted to get to the cafe, eat whatever she was offering, then leave so he could put all this behind him.

With his hands in his pockets and eyes downcast toward the sidewalk below, Kenma would only glance up once in a while to make sure he was heading in the right direction. [Name] had invited him back to the cafe where they had first interacted a couple days back, so it wasn't like he had to look around often. It was a place he went to frequently.

His phone was still vibrating at almost regular intervals and Kenma had half a mind to pull out his phone and call every single person who was bothering him. Though, he supposed a better solution would be to turn the phone off altogether. Just as he was pulling it out to do so, a voice called out to him from a distance away.

"Kozume-kun, I'm glad you could make it!"

[Name] was waving at him from her spot in front of the cafe, an excited smile on her face. For a second, he wondered when she had left school to get there so quickly. He had left immediately after school—or rather, Kuroo had forced him to leave immediately after school—and she still managed to beat him there without him realizing.

"I'm glad you came so quickly," she said with relief once he was close enough to hear her at an appropriate volume. "Your friend that was with you yesterday and the day before, um," she paused, trying to remember the name he'd given. "Kuroo? He gave me your number and I tried texting you to tell you I was already here. My phone's only halfway charged and I was afraid it'd die before you got here…"

"Kuroo gave you…" Kenma twitched, imagining his so called best friend handing [Name] a slip of paper that contained the digits to his cell phone. He dug it out of his pocket, looking at the screen and seeing an unfamiliar number as the last two received texts.

"I'm sorry I didn't ask directly," she apologized as he began putting his phone away once more. "I couldn't find you anywhere today."

Right. Because he had already found himself a new, decent hiding spot. He hoped this one would last longer than the last.

"I-It's fine… I guess," he mumbled.

"Great, um," an awkward silence consumed the two of them—something Kenma had feared would happen—and they stood there for a while before [Name] gestured to the entrance of the cafe. "Would you like to go inside now? I've already got us a table."

Nodding a bit stiffly, Kenma followed [Name] through the entrance. The familiar scent of the place washed over them as he followed her to a table near the back, somewhat isolated from the rest of the place. As they sat across from each other, the uncomfortable silence from before followed them into the cafe as well. It was alleviated for a second when a waitress came by to take their orders.

"Just get what you want," [Name] had said as he glanced at the menu. "It'll be my treat today."

When their orders had been placed and the waitress had left, the silence settled once more. Kenma felt nervous, fidgeting his fingers around his cell phone inside of his pocket. It was still vibrating, meaning Kuroo and a few other people were still trying to text him. He pulled it out for a second, checking all the messages and grimacing at the words of 'encouragement' his friends were sending. Then, realizing that it was normally rude to have a cell phone out when you were out with someone, he shoved it back in his pocket before looking up with minor panic.

But [Name] was on her phone as well, a look of concentration on her face. Kenma could hear the noises coming from her phone and the familiar sound of an annoying character he'd grown to recognize reached his ears.

"Are you playing a game?" His question came out slowly, not quite sure if he'd heard it right.

Having been caught, [Name]'s cheeks flushed a light pink as she quickly exited the app. "Yeah," she answered, affirming his suspicion. "It's the reason why my phone has been dying so quickly lately. I can't put it down until I get passed this final level."

Thinking back to the game he thought she was playing and remembering the exact difficulties she was going through, Kenma hesitated before saying, "I could help."

His statement sounded more like a question to both of their ears, but it didn't stop [Name] from grinning widely. Unlocking her phone once more, she placed it on the table between them so they could both view the screen. She clicked a few buttons here and there, showing her character and the stats she had acquired over the course of the game. As she explained what she'd done so far, Kenma realized that she'd taken a completely different approach, making the end seem almost unfamiliar and new. It was going to be a new type of challenge finishing the game her way.

They were both so engrossed in finishing it that they barely even noticed when their orders had finally arrived.


	4. Chapter 4

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With a pencil in hand, Kenma scribbled down the notes his teacher was writing on the board at the front of class. With his mind on autopilot, he copied down the words without really paying attention to what he was writing. Only on occasion when the lead in his pencil snapped or his teacher went back to rewrite something did he really stop to pay closer attention. It was just a normal day in class for the most part.

As the teacher droned on about the subject they were currently going over, Kenma felt a sudden vibration in his pocket. Subconsciously, he thanked himself for remembering to put his cell phone on silent before class started, otherwise the noise from it would have surely caused a few eyes to turn his way. Sneaking his phone out of his pocket, he went to check on the incoming message, trying his best to ignore the few eyes that did look his way.

 _Hey Kozume-kun, it read._ It was from [Name]. _I had a lot of fun yesterday!_

Glancing up from his phone, Kenma looked toward the front of class where he knew [Name] usually sat. Though she was currently facing away from him, one hand writing down the class notes, he could clearly see a secretive smile on her face and her phone in her other hand below her desk. He thought it was pretty gutsy of her to have her phone out when she was in clear sight of the teacher. For a brief second, he saw her glance back to where he was sitting before she quickly typed something else.

 _Thank you again for helping me get passed that final level in my game. I just downloaded the one you recommended this morning!_

Reading the message a few times silently to himself, Kenma found himself answering it a lot faster than he would have if it had been verbally said to him. With his phone in his lap, he tapped away at the screen to reply to [Name]'s texts.

 _No problem_ , he sent at first. It took him about a minute to work up the courage to send a second text saying, _I had fun too._

It was the truth. Despite him feeling so terribly uncomfortable at first and wanting to walk away on so many occasions, the two of them had eventually warmed up to each other during their outing. He had thought he'd be dreading every minute of it, but after finding a common interest in the one game they both had on their phones, Kenma found it much easier to actually force a sentence or two out.

There was a sudden cough from in front of him. Startled, Kenma quickly covered his phone with the palm of his hand, fear widened eyes looking up toward the front of class as a barely audible squeak left his lips. The teacher, having not heard the noise from the back of the room, was in the same position still writing on the board. The cough had come from another student, someone a few seats ahead of him, and not a lurking teacher like Kenma had expected.

Glancing back at [Name], he saw her staring at him. There was a strained grin on her face while she tried to stifle her giggling. She had witnessed Kenma's little freak out and, with a teasing look, she lifted a single finger to her lips in a shushing motion. After that, she turned her attention back to her notes to begin writing once more and Kenma thought their conversation was over.

It was only a few minutes later that his phone received another text.

 _I'm glad you had fun!_ There was about a minute's pause, almost as if [Name] were hesitating on whether she should send it or not, before a second one came right after. _Maybe we could do it again some time?_

Looking down at the message, Kenma felt his mind cease to function. His hand was no longer copying notes down on autopilot, instead his pencil had clattered onto the desk and almost rolled away. His ears no longer heard what the teacher was saying, instead he could only hear the faint beating of his heart against his eardrums. He couldn't even comprehend what the message was supposed to mean.

For a fraction of a second, his eyes distracted themselves with the icon in the upper corner showing his phone's battery life. He had left his screen open for so long waiting for [Name] to text him back, he hadn't noticed earlier that it was no longer fully charged. When had it drained down to seventy-five percent?

Almost as if she could sense the fact that Kenma didn't know how to interpret her text, [Name] sent a third one a few second later saying, _We can start playing the other game together._

For a few minutes, Kenma actually avoided looking at his phone, using the time to catch up on the notes he hadn't taken down instead. His hand worked slowly, deliberately giving him more time to think about an answer. In his peripheral vision, he could see [Name]'s shoulders slumping. It was almost as if the longer he waited to give her an answer, the more her chipper personality deflated. It wasn't like he didn't enjoy the time they'd spent together; he just didn't know what to make of this entire situation.

Finally, after a good ten minutes had passed, Kenma sent a text back saying, _I'd like that._

Immediately after sending the message, Kenma's eyes locked onto [Name]. As she was reading his text, he noticed her visibly relax. Then, as if some newfound energy had invaded her body, she sat up straighter and began to text him once more. Kenma swore that if she looked any happier, she would tip the teacher off to what she was really doing. Then they'd both get in trouble.

 _Maybe this time instead of a cafe we can go to a place you like._

It was a nice thought and Kenma had been wanting to go to a few stores lately to get things on a list of items he had been saving up for. He'd normally ask Kuroo to go along with him, but all the third years had been so busy lately with upcoming entrance exams for college—not that Kenma trusted his friend was studying very hard. Going alone to crowded places wasn't a very appealing thought either.

There was just one thing Kenma had to confirm before he would agree to hang out with [Name] again.

 _Is this a date?_

Her response was immediate. _Did you want it to be?_


	5. Chapter 5

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Sifting through his closet, Kenma searched around for something he knew he'd be comfortable walking around all day in. Thinking back to the weather outside earlier that morning, he remembered the air feeling a bit chillier than normal. Something kin to a gut feeling was telling him that it would continue being cold for the rest of the day, so with that in mind, he quickly picked out one of his favorite hoodies. He slipped it over the shirt he was wearing easily, adjusting the shoestring straps on the side so that they were about the same length.

Now that he'd finished getting dressed, his next order of business was to grab all the things he thought he'd need for the day. His wallet was a must, otherwise how would he buy all the items on his list that he needed? Shoving that, along with his house keys, into his pocket, he searched around the rest of his room. His eyes landed on a single umbrella that lay near his desk, tipped onto its side and partially hidden by a small pile of dirty laundry. It would probably be a smart idea to bring it along, but the space in his pockets was limited. If only his bag wasn't lying on his bed.

"Kenma, you sure have been texting [Name] a lot," Kuroo whistled from his position on Kenma's bed. Underneath his head was the aforementioned bag and in his hands, Kenma's phone lay hostage.

With a grunt of disapproval, Kenma marches over to where Kuroo is lounging and snatches his phone away from the dark haired male, setting it back on his desk—way out of Kuroo's reach—so it can charge properly. Kenma avoids eye contact with his friend, knowing full well that the volleyball captain is sporting a cheshire-like grin.

"No need to be so shy," Kuroo teases, rolling over so he's lying on his side instead of on his back. Just a few more inches and Kenma would be able to snatch his bag out from underneath him. "I know you text her whenever you're not practicing on court."

A mix of reds colors Kenma's cheeks at Kuroo's accusation. "Am not," he huffs, but he can't do much more to defend himself. Turning away from his friend completely, he goes to pick up the umbrella on the floor before trying to shove it in what little space he has left in his pockets. Screw the bag, he needed to leave now.

There's a creaking sound as Kuroo shifts on the bed once more, compressing the springs in the mattress. Kenma can imagine him folding his arms behind his head, lazily closing his eyes and frowning ever so slightly as he tilts his chin up toward the ceiling in thought. It was one of those poses Kenma had grown used to seeing, having Kuroo as a close friend who came over quite often.

"Yeah, I know," Kuroo says in his own version of an apology. "I can hear the sounds of your game when you're off court."

There's another bit of silence between the two of them, though this one isn't nearly as uncomfortable as any silence Kenma had to endure the first time he visited the cafe with [Name]. Slightly more calm, he stops trying to force his umbrella into his pocket.

"Still," Kuroo continues, rolling over once more so that he's now on his stomach, eyes fixated on his best friend. "I'm surprised you agreed to go out with her again. You've only been talking for a week."

Lips twitching, Kenma mumbled out a nearly inaudible, "It's not a date."

Out of the corner of his eye, Kenma can see Kuroo's grin return. This time he does fully turn toward his friend and, upon closer inspection, Kenma can see a mischievous twinkle in Kuroo's eyes. The older teen sits up from his position on the bed, resting the brunt of his weight on his elbows as he tries his best to lean closer to Kenma without actually falling off the bed.

"I didn't accuse you of going on a date," Kuroo remarked. Kenma could practically see the ends of Kuroo's grin curling wickedly as gears began to spin in his brain.

In one fluid motion Kenma stepped closer to his bed, nearly startling Kuroo as he snatched his bag out from under him. Stuffing the contents of his pockets, along with the umbrella, into the bag, he quickly slung it over his shoulder before turning sharply on his heel. He picked up his fully charged cell phone off his desk, nearly pulling the charging cord from its place in the electrical socket with how fast he was moving. Kenma was at the door to his room before Kuroo could even realize what exactly was going on. With a single hand on the doorknob, Kenma fought to bite back the color that stained his cheeks before he turned to look at Kuroo one last time.

"Go home and study," Kenma hissed before leaving his room altogether. Behind him, he could still hear Kuroo laughing.

Kuroo would be back again tomorrow. Still no closer to actually studying for his exams.

With a heavier than normal sigh, Kenma pulled out his phone as he left his house, needing it for directions. The moment he unlocked his phone, the screen went back to what Kuroo had been previously looking at. Kenma's text history with [Name] glared up at him from the tiny screen and at the very top of the list was her last known text to him, sent earlier that morning.

 _Good morning Kozume-kun! I can't wait to hang out today!_

Kenma smiled.

He couldn't wait either.


End file.
